Flowers are all about Experience

Flowers are all about Experience

camera Emerson experience flower experience flower power flowers kids and flowers Thoreau

“Where the most beautiful wild flowers grow, there mans spirit is fed and poets grow.”
                                                                                       -Henry David Thoreau

Working with flowers all day we sometimes forget the magic they possess. It only takes a child‘s wonder to remind you.

Last week a neighbor handed down an outdated digital camera to our 6 year old. Immediately, we had to go on a photo safari across the neighborhood. I was happy to oblige and off we went, my son clicking away at whatever caught his eye.  I decided not to intervene with my expert advice and just see what we came back with…this was harder than it sounds!

A couple gigabytes later, we returned home and stuck the memory card in the computer. What happened next was truly surprising. Literally, 100 percent of the photos were of flowers. Not just big bloomed dahlias and poppies leaning out to the curb, but tiny flowers on a bush, which I’d never noticed, dandelions in a neighbor’s unkempt yard, little scruffy blooms on ornamental foliages;  nothing else seemed to captivate his attention.

We all start with this intrinsic fascination with flowers. It’s hard wired in to our being. The cyclic nature of cultural trends, leads to this attraction coming back into vogue again and again. Whether it was Thoreau and Emerson turning their backs on the conforming demands of society to find simplicity in nature, or hippies of the 60’s finding solace and peace in “flower power.” We are currently on the edge of a resurgence of this idea, as millennials push back on the disposable culture embraced by their parents and embrace the idea that experiences are more valuable than material possessions.

Flowers are all about the experience. Sure, they are doing a biological action to reproduce, but the flair with which they accomplish this act is truly amazing.  They draw you in and demand your attention.

Is anything on earth as universally loved and appreciated as flowers?

Perhaps this is why we share them in joy and in sorrow and why we cultivate them in our gardens and pick up an eye catching bouquet at the store.  This is why we name our children after them, hang paintings of them on our walls, and even use them as screen savers on our computers, and why when a child is given a camera and freedom, the first thing they photograph is a flower.

We all need the experience flowers give us.

*All photos taken by a six year old.

Fading flowers

Fading flowers

flowers

Fading sunflowers remind me of Grandma's old summer dresses hanging out to dry on a clothesline, faded by the sun.   They have seen a better day.

On these late summer days, I walk through the garden deciding which flowers to deadhead and which to let fade to a lovely aged patina, befitting a fall garden.

How do I decide what to cut and what to leave alone?

At this point, I'm deadheading

What's the Story Behind Your Flowers?

What's the Story Behind Your Flowers?

#americangrown dinner party entertaining field to fork field to vase flowers J Schwanke Tulips uBloom

"At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely.
                                                                                                             -W.  Somerset Maugham

They say you eat with your eyes first. The appearance of food plated at a restaurant or at home is the first experience a diner has with the meal, long before smell, and even longer before taste.

Amber Waves

However, I would argue that the experience starts before that. The table, the room, the music, the conversation and of course, the flowers, all compliment or detract from the food. These impact our senses before the food or drink is served. It is ironic that people throw a “dinner party,” when really it could be an “ambiance party” or a “flower party” or even a “conversation party.”

Redwood Tulips

With the Field To Fork movement about as hip as dinner can get right now, and the Field To Vase movement close on its heels, we are lucky to experience this wave of farmers market inspired dinners and flowers, this didn’t exist ten years ago.

The interesting thing about flowers as a centerpiece, arranged around the room or in the kitchen is that as the food gets eaten, wine bottles get emptied, plates cleared and conversation creates its own path among friends and family, what stays on the table?

 The flowers.

Tulip Dream

Chairs get pushed back, napkins folder into odd shapes, candles burn down, but the flowers remain. It is the flowers that stay as the focal, starting before the food comes and remaining after the waiter has brought the check, or your host has stacked the plates in the sink.

The flowers often become a conversation piece in themselves, and especially now, as the story of where your flowers came from is just as important as who grew your lettuce or vinted your wine. Do you know your flower farmer personally? Do you know the farm where they grew?  Are they grown in the United States?

Hot Property

Perhaps a good dinner party is really a “story party,” since this is what we talk about, the story of the recipe you used on the wild caught California Salmon, or perhaps how you developed the drink recipe for your signature cocktail, maybe how you toured the vineyard of the wine you are pouring.  Sure, we talk about family, work and topics of the day, but when you throw a dinner party you are sharing your home, your passions and your knowledge with your guests.
 
Make sure you have the story of your flowers in your repertoire, your guest will surely ask where they came from.

A big thanks to J Schwanke of uBloom.com for all the wonderful flower arrangements in this post.

The Controversial Violet

The Controversial Violet

flowers

Viola sp. grown from seed many years ago. 

Oh, the controversy over violets!

There are some people who consider violets of any species to be lawn and garden weeds which should be pulled out, or worse, obliterated with herbicides.

There are others, and I am in this group  of others, who think violets are the most charming of flowers, which should be allowed to flourish just about any place

Ode to Lawn Flowers

Ode to Lawn Flowers

fairies flowers lawns

Chionodoxa

I'm quite pleased with how the Chionodoxa have begun to flower in the lawn just as the Crocus are beginning to fade.

I like them so much I finally learned how to pronounce the name Chionodoxa - "key-own-a-dox-ah".

Or glory of the snow, if you prefer, but there is no snow around here so it seems to be a rather odd common name.

Key-own-a-dox-ah.

Most of what I planted last fall

Agriculture Business Ideas

Agriculture Business Ideas

Agri business agriculture business tips basket production bee keeping business ideas cashew nuts farming flowers hatchery organic vegetable farming

Agriculture Business requires knowledge of farming practices as well as some experience in developing a business.  If done properly Agriculture Businesses are the most lucrative business in this world.

Agriculture Business can be started in low-cost with some training.  Find below the methods to make money from Agriculture Business in short period.

Livestock Feed

Now a day’s lot of people are going for livestock farming like Pig Farming, Goat Farming, Cow Farming, Fish Farming and Poultry Farming.  As a smart business man you can start supplying the feed to the people to feed their livestock.  Ensure by research you are supplying the feed with rich nutrients that helps to grow their livestock healthy.

To start this business you need Grinding Machine, Weighing Machine, Packing Bags and Raw Materials for Production.

See also drip irrigation

Cashew Nuts and Ground Nut Processing

Raw Cashew Nuts and Ground Nuts are available in village farms and markets.  You can purchase them at low price and sell at profit by proper processing and packing.

Vegetable Farming

Mushroom Farming is a highly profitable business that can fetch you more than 300%.  Space is the key for Mushroom Farming, if available then you can have your own farm and supply it to Pharma Industries, Restaurants etc., If you are doing it in a big scale you can even export it to other countries.

Soya bean which is rich in nutrients can be grown and supplied in the market.  People with health conscious would definitely buy this.

Like this you can choose vegetables in demand and grow in your farm for commercial purpose.  Capital required to start this Agriculture Business is Very Low.

Flowers and Herbal Plants

Plants are the basis for Home, Landscape and Gardens. If you have space in your garden, growing different types of plants, herbs and sell them to make money

See also Sprinkler Irrigation

Coconut Juice

Coconut Flavor is a distinctive addition to sweet and savory recipes.  With proper business plan, packing and quantity you can sell to supermarkets with your brand name.  Good Marketing plan will fetch you lot of money in this business.

Flour Milling

By converting grains like Wheat, Millet, and Corns in to flour you can start your own Flour Milling business.  If you don’t have space, you can rent a small space and start from there and as your business expands, you can opt for a larger space.

Agriculture Brokerage

If you have good network, you can connect the growers with buyers and get commissions paid. No Investment Required.

Organic Farming

People are now showing more interest in Organic Foods.  Organic Fruits and Vegetable are appealing.  Farmers are selling their organic produce to hotels and restaurants.  

Running Organic farm needs special Skills, Equipment’s and Fertilizer.  It takes more time to combat Weeds and Bug Infestations according to strict Organic Standards

See also Mulching Sheets

Selling Fruit Juices

People dislike artificial juices because of the additives and slowly turning towards Fresh and Natural juice which is rich in Vitamins. If you have blenders and extractors, then there is a huge opportunity to make money.

Bee Keeping

Honey is manufactured in Beehives. Pure honey has more commercial value than artificial honey. One liter of pure honey will fetch you between Rs.1000 – 2000.  In village farms people are selling pure honey you can buy it, process and pack it in an attractive way to make money. 

See also Goat Farming

Basket Production

Baskets are produced in various sizes.  Farmers use this for packing and storing agricultural products.  It is made from palm front and leaves to finished products for economic and commercial gains.

Hatchery

Selling baby chicks is one of much profitable Agricultural business. They can provide a family with egg, meat or both.  Your job is to have enough egg laying hens, incubate them and sell when they hatch. You can also distribute the chicks to supply stores to make money.

2 Woman's Day Marketing Themes

2 Woman's Day Marketing Themes

#American Grown Flowers #americangrown #OriginMatters #WomensDay flowers March 8 2015 Women's Day 2015

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  

                                  ~John F. Kennedy

Women’s Day is March 8 and is fast approaching. What is your organization doing to benefit from this groundswell movement? Momentum has been building for the last several years and now the holiday is hitting its stride. Here are two themes on which to focus your marketing efforts.

Honor. The act of honoring someone is perhaps a lost art. Women’s Day aims to bring this idea back into vogue by creating a time and place for people to honor those who have touched their lives. Other flower-giving occasions do this, but it is usually directed at a specific person, like your mother. On Women’s Day you are free to honor your teachers, your mentors, your colleagues and even your siblings or children. Both women and men can participate in this idea of recognizing a special person in their life with flowers. This sentiment resonates strongly with consumers since people need to feel connected and people want to feel appreciated, and frankly both of these sentiments are in short supply in our day-to-day lives.

Respect. Who do you respect in your community? When do you get to show that admiration? For me, it is my son’s schoolteacher. I cannot fathom how she handles a room full of four-year olds with such grace and poise. Whether you are male or female, when you stop and think about the women in your life that you respect, the list gets long quickly. Encouraging consumers to show respect with flowers on March 8th creates positive feelings. We have an innate need to recognize the people who make our lives richer. The ironic part is that many of the women we respect the most may not even realize that we hold them in such high esteem. A simple bunch of tulips on Women’s Day can change this paradigm.

This holiday is a low-pressure, easy-to-manage way to honor and respect those individuals in our lives who matter; those women who make our lives better.


Sun Valley is offering Woman's Day specials on Tulips and Bouquets, so check in with your sales rep.


At store level, this is truly a feel-good event. A few stems of springy iris, or some fragrant lily blooms, are all you need. You can even encourage shoppers to buy bunches of flowers and hand out stems over the course of the day. A single tulip can speak volumes.

Women’s Day lacks the pretense of other flower holidays and, because it happens in spring, flowers are already on consumers’ minds. Talk to your floral departments and make sure they are aware that Women’s Day is on the horizon and that they are engaging customers leading up to March 8 — it will definitely increase sales.

The much-maligned phrase, “it’s the thought that counts,” actually comes to fruition for Women’s Day. The very act of getting some flowers for the women in your life shows that you both honor and respect the value that they bring to your life.

To learn more, visit Sun Valley's Woman's Day Resource Page.

This article is reprinted in part from the Produce News.

The Society for the Promotion of Mums as the Quintessential Fall Flower

The Society for the Promotion of Mums as the Quintessential Fall Flower

fall flowers Humor

Who will buy these?

The Society for the Promotion of Mums as the Quintessential Fall Flower* would like to lodge an official protest regarding the disfiguration of poinsettias to modify their colors to allow them to be sold in the fall as an alternative to mums, which are the quintessential fall flower.

The Society is concerned that allowing this practice of coloring poinsettias in shades of

Wordless Wednesday - Fall Floral Flotsam

Wordless Wednesday - Fall Floral Flotsam

flowers shrubs

Fall Floral Flotsam on Viburnum

"A bit out of season, but a reminder that every season leaves something behind when it moves on, a remembrance, a bit of debris, some floral flotsam."

Magical Autumn Crocus - A Story

Magical Autumn Crocus - A Story

bulbs fairies fall flowers

Once upon a time, in the autumn time, a bouquet of garden fairies were sitting in a garden, resting after a long day spent painting tree leaves in the traditional colors of fall.  

The garden fairies were all covered in fall colors - gold, orange, crimson, yellow, burnt umber, brown and all colors in between.  They were tired but satisfied they had done as good a job as they had ever done

The color of fall

The color of fall

fall flowers

Autumn crocus

The color of fall is gold and orange and yellow and brown and tan, right?

Well, someone forgot to tell my garden about this color scheme.

Here in my garden, we are enjoying purples and pinks and whites, and they look wonderful in the glow of a partly sunny, cool autumn afternoon.

Walk with me through the garden and let's take a look.

First up, let's kneel down and see the

Be quiet amongst the flowers

Be quiet amongst the flowers

flowers

Clematis 'Pagoda'

Shhh... be quiet amongst the flowers, lest you disturb a sleeping garden fairy.

Or frighten a buzzing bee.

Or interrupt a chorus of birds.

Shhh... if you are quiet enough,

You may hear the earthworms digging.

You may hear the butterflies flying.

You will hear the songs of the flowers.

Guest Perspective on Women's Day 2014

Guest Perspective on Women's Day 2014

#WomensDay flowers International Women's Day Robin Baker

In preparation for Women's Day, fellow team member Robin Baker wrote a guest blog post for Flower Talk. Enjoy her perspective on this holiday, which is coming up Saturday, March 8th. 

Mount Blackburn, at the heart of the Wrangell Mountains in Alaska, stands at an impressive 16,390 feet. I could see its summit from the toe of the Kennecott Glacier over 20 miles away. I was sitting among the wildflowers in front of the lodge where I’d been working for the summer. The peak, the fifth highest in the United States, was first summited by a woman, Dora Keen, on May 19 in 1912, eight years before the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment which granted women the right to vote.

Sitting in the dusky Alaskan sun of late summer, I couldn’t help but be humbled by women like Dora Keen, Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the countless others who paved the way for the women of today. These women and many around me today, remind me not to limit myself to set ideas about what I can or cannot do based on my gender.

Mount Blackburn is the snow covered peak on the left.

We’ve come a long way. If I want to work for a multimillion dollar company, I can. If I want to be a CEO, I can. If I want to be an outdoor guide and summit 16,000 foot peaks, I can. If I want to be an engineer, plumber, doctor, artist, teacher, mechanic…I can. I can choose if, when and whom I want to marry and if and when I have children—a right some in the world are still fighting for.

All that effort, the step-by-step struggle Dora Keen took to reach the summit of Blackburn and the years of fighting and hard work by women like Susan B. Anthony bring us to where we are today. We are not quite at the summit, we are still en route. However, this is something worth celebrating.

Remembering this, I turned my attention from the distant summit of the mountain to the flowers growing beside me on the hillside. I was then sweetly reminded that it took many small details to make up the breathtaking landscape I was enjoying. The height of a mountain cannot dwarf the beauty of a resilient wild Alaskan flower. Instead, they work together to create a world of color that offers a myriad of tactile pleasures to enjoy. 

That’s why, this Women’s Day, I’ll be honoring and celebrating the women in my life by giving them flowers. Flowers remind us to slow down, appreciate the hard work and intricacy of beauty and growth that comes in all shapes and sizes. 

-Robin Baker 

In keeping with Sun Valley's Guiding Principle #3, "Inspire others and always keep learning", Robin also volunteers on the Board of the Emma Center, whose mission is to provide long term, integrated healing services in a safe, empowering environment for any woman who has experienced trauma.

Purple and Green

Purple and Green

fall flowers

Seems all I can think of these days is silver and gold purple and green.

Purple and GreenPurple and GreenEveryone wishes for Purple and GreenHow do you measure its worth?Just by the pleasure it gives here on Earth


Alyssum

Purple and GreenPurple and GreenEveryone wishes for Purple and GreenHow do you measure its worth?Just by the pleasure it gives here on Earth


Aster 'Purple Dome'
 Purple

I never cared about Camellias until...

I never cared about Camellias until...

books flowers houseplants

This is NOT a camellia, it is a rose.

I never cared about Camellias until I started reading Eudora Welty's gardening letters (Tell About Night Flowers: Eudora Welty's Gardening Letters, 1940-1949, edited by Julia Eichelberger).

I thought I knew all I needed to know about them. My daily iced green tea is made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis  and those grown for the flowers, generally

Parrot Tulips ~ How do they do that?

Parrot Tulips ~ How do they do that?

#CAGrown #USGrown flowers Geert Hageman Georgia O'Keefe Parrot Tulips Tulips

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else.”
- Georgia O'Keeffe

"Pink Tulip" Georgia O'Keeffe (1926)

Was Georgia O’Keeffe thinking of tulips when she made this remark? It seems there is no better flower to submerge your thoughts in than our novelty tulips. We sometimes call these varieties “fancy”, and I like this term more, because in theory a “novelty” wears off, where my fascination with these ornate gems is unending.

Looking at tulips in the “Parrot” family can be pretty mind boggling. The most often question we hear is “How do they do that?” How do the petals gain the fringe, the curly edges and the wavy texture that makes these tulips truly fancy?

Parrot tulips came on the scene in the early 1900’s. They existed before then, however, there was a renaissance of the Parrot as breeders were able to increase stem strength in about 1930.

Tulipa gesnerana dracontia is the name for the variety of cultivated tulips known as Parrots. The bold serrated edges of the tulip petals give them a ruffled appearance; this ruffled look is thought to be very similar to the feathers of a parrot. These feathered and contorted petals really grab your attention, and require a second look to see what is going on with these blooms. Technically these tulips are early flowering; however, at Sun Valley we have them year round.

Rococco           |               Salmon Parrot               |                Super Parrot           |           Bright Parrot

The history of how some of these wild varieties have come to be is sketchy at best, however, I did track down Lane DeVries to ask him, what happens to create these interesting tulips? He explained that many of our fancy tulips are in their origin mutants; meaning a genetic abnormality, which breeders were able to reproduce. Some examples are:

• Our Rococco variety is a mutation of a classic tulip variety named Couleur Cardinal.

• Our Super Parrot is a mutation of White Dream.

• Our Bright Parrot is a mutation of Kees Nelis.

• Our Libretto Parrot is a mutation of Prominence.

Many of our fancy tulips have an ornate fringe, such as Honeymoon, Dallas, Daytona and Curly Sue. These fringed varieties were developed by one of the modern masters of tulip breeding, Geert Hageman. Tulips with fringe have been around for many years, yet these new varieties stand out as dramatically better tulips for growing commercially, as opposed to a “garden variety” tulip. To achieve these impressive results, the rumor is Mr. Hageman took older heirloom varieties of fringed tulips, then crossed them with newer varieties, creating an exceptional class of beautiful fringed tulips.

Honeymoon                   |                 Dallas             |                 Daytona             |                 Curly Sue

In the greenhouse, our fancy tulips grow a little faster than our standard tulips, they usually come to harvest about 4 or 5 days sooner than a regular tulip. For this reason our lead tulip grower Antoon Volwater plants all the fancy tulips in the same vicinity of each other. He says he like to keep them together to facilitate the picking and for monitoring their progress because they need a little more attention than a standard tulip.

A developing Rococco Tulip

Antoon also pointed out that you can tell the crates of fancy tulips because when they emerge from the ground, the first leaves that appear are flared out horizontally, while a regular tulip’s leaves stand straight up. We generally put fewer bulbs in each crate, so they have a little more room to move, and of course, like all Sun Valley’s tulips, we grow them in Lane’s special blend of soil. Growing in soil leads to bigger, healthier tulips than what is flown in from Holland. (Check out this comparison).

Antoon among his tulips.

This obsession with quality is a distinctly American ideal, and it shows in our tulips. Flowers grown in the United States have a better vase life, a lighter carbon foot print and they represent American jobs, which is something everyone is concerned with these days. Get the best of both worlds, ask for high quality American grown flowers and support our economy by keeping your dollars stateside.

Call a Sun Valley Floral Farm Sales Rep. to see what fancy tulips we are currently harvesting.

What is a gilliflower?

What is a gilliflower?

books fairies flowers

Gilliflowers

What is a gilliflower?

I did not know so I looked it up in Johnson's Gardeners' Dictionary, edited by J. Fraser, F.L.S., F.R.H.S.  and A. Hemsley (London: George Routledge & Sons, Limited, 1917).  This is a new edition "based on the Original Edition of 1846, thoroughly recast and brought down to the year 1917".

And I quote.

"GILLIFLOWER.  By some supposed to be a corruption of